NASA Administrator Charles Bolden took advantage of an international air traffic control conference in Beijing last month to meet with Wang Zhaoyao, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office. Jaiwon Shin, associate NASA administrator for aeronautics, is chairman of the 23-nation International Forum for Aviation Research that met in Zhuhai, China, so the visit apparently fell within the exemption for multilateral conferences in the congressional ban on space cooperation with China.
A 30-ft. long, multi-bay box test article made out of a low-weight, damage-tolerant, stitched composite structural concept called Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure, or Prseus, has been delivered to the NASA Langley Research Center for evaluation.
The Pentagon has selected F-35 development partners Italy and Turkey to handle major maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade work for the single-engine, stealthy fighter in Europe, with facilities operational by 2018. The U.S. Defense Department plans to announce the location of maintenance for the Pacific region this week. Japan and Australia are expected to fare well in those assignments. Italy’s Cameri Air Base will be the site for heavy airframe maintenance. Turkey will initially handle the heavy engine maintenance for the Pratt & Whitney F135.
Renewed discussions around deliveries of the A350 and the future of the A380 along with a less than enthusiastic outlook for future profits left their mark on the Airbus share price last week. The stock was down more than 10% on Dec. 11, the worst decline in six years.
The global airline industry is forecast to benefit significantly from the drop in fuel prices, but part of the improvement will be passed on to consumers as lower fares, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts. The association believes airlines will post a combined profit of $25 billion in 2015, up from $19.9 billion this year, $10.6 billion in 2013 and $6.1 billion in 2012. “We see falling oil prices giving a great boost both to the industry and consumers,” IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce said last week.
A $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill designed to keep the U.S. government open for the remainder of fiscal 2015 includes $18 billion for NASA for the year.
An item in the Nov. 24 Washington Outlook column (page 20), “Size Doesn’t Matter,” misstated the type of judge who ruled in a dispute over a UAV fine by the FAA. The story should have stated that an administrative law judge initially ruled on Raphael Pirker’s case. The NTSB overturned it.
Correction: . The Dec. 1/8 article “Uncivil 737s” (page 49) incorrectly stated some of the capabilities of the P-8A. The Navy says it has not seen a “current active plan” to test depth charge capability, and notes that the SLAM-ER is no longer part of the program of record. In addition, the rank of VP-30’s officer in charge of fleet integration for the P-8A and MQ-4C was misstated. He is Cmdr. Andrew Miller.
With the clock ticking toward the first run of the GE9X core in 2015, and manufacturing of the first full engine core components getting underway, GE is counting on these materials to play a critical role in reducing weight and boosting efficiency.
France is slowly replacing its aging Boeing KC-135Rs with Airbus A330 multirole tanker-transports, though defense budget constraints are hindering the transition.
The safety board’s final report on an APU battery fire in a JAL aircraft contains 18 recommendations to the FAA, Boeing and lithium-ion battery manufacturer GS Yuasa Corp., adding to five recommendations issued earlier in the investigation.
The South Korean parliament, allowing only modest funding for preliminary KF-X work, has kept open the possibility of economizing by replacing an indigenous KF-X design with the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or an advanced development of that type.
The move will put competitive pressure on the Guangzhou city government, on which 9 Air relies for political support when seeking route rights. If permitted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the second base also would give 9 Air an alternative path for development should its Guangzhou-centered strategy falter.
Bridget Lauderdalehas been appointed senior vice president-corporate strategy and business development of the Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Maryland. She has been vice president/general manager of Aeronautics Operations and was vice president/general manager for the F-16, F-2 and T-50 programs. Patricia L.
